The West Isle Line is a

private railroad A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

and is a wholly owned subsidiary of

Nutrien Nutrien is a Canadian fertilizer company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is the largest producer of potash, second largest producer of nitrogen fertilizer in the world and generally the 2nd largest in fertilizers worldwide. It has over 2,0 ...

(formerly Western Farm Service). The line is operated by a contractor and the line does not have any employees. The line began service on January 7, 1998, after having been acquired from the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway. The line runs for 5.25 miles from

Alpaugh, California Alpaugh is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tulare County, California, Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 871 at the 2020 census. It is named for John Alpaugh, one of the officers of the Home Extension Colony which re ...

, to a connection with the BNSF Railway at Stoil (milepost 936 on BNSF's

Bakersfield Subdivision The Bakersfield Subdivision is a railway line in California owned and operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs from Fresno in the north where it connects to the Stockton Subdivision and Bakersfield in the south where it continues as the Mojave Sub ...

). Western Farm Service is the only customer on the line. Western Farm Service bought the line from the BNSF in order to avoid having the BNSF's "Alpaugh Branch" abandoned. The line was formerly part of the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996. The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...

and was constructed by the ATSF in 1914. The railroad, as of 2001, averages 400 carloads per year, primarily chemicals used for

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

Motive power

The West Isle Line has one

EMD GP9 The EMD GP9 is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Diesel, General Motors' Electro-Motive Division between 1954 and 1963. The GP9 succeeded the EMD GP7, GP7 as the second model of EMD's General Purpose (GP) line, inco ...

(serial number 21332) that was manufactured in February 1956 for

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

. It is marked in a green paint scheme with yellow marking as "West Isle Line" engine number "3399". It was formerly known as SP 3399, 3472, and 5639.

References

External links

Railroad Retirement Board determines West Isle Line is a private railroadPicture of West Isle Line Engine #3399BNSF Profile of WFS
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Isle Line Inc. California railroads Companies based in Tulare County, California Spin-offs of the BNSF Railway

Motive power

See also

References

External links